Hochevar wasn't at his sharpest last Wednesday night but he still managed to shut out the Tigers for six innings, giving up just four singles. He showed an ability to work out of jams ... This was his fifth start since being called up from Triple-A Omaha on April 20. In all but his first outing, he's pitched six or seven solid innings. With an effective sinker, he's been good at inducing ground balls...

Hochevar has never faced any hitter on the Red Sox. ... Seven Royals are a combined 4-for-27 (.148/.273/.148) against Lester.

UPDATE: Nice short Q&A with hitting coach Dave Magadan about how David Ortiz began hitting off a batting tee for the first time on May 1. Since then, he has hit .354 and has been spraying the ball all over the field.

Also, from Edes:"Hideki Okajima said his sore left wrist is fine and he's available to pitch. He's out on the field now [4:27 PM] testing the wrist; Terry Francona said he may not use Okajima depending on whether he feels the lefthander can spot his pitches after a four-day layoff."

Ish: Good point. And that's why I think the Sox performance so far is just a shadow of what we should expect. From Lowell's injury to Ortiz' slump to Beckett's lost Spring Training, through the Japan trip, the Varitek flu and the weirdness of the last road trip, the team has never been able to settle down and show just how good it can be over a long period.

Sure, redsock, but don't you think the past month has been unusually weird? The flu particularly; No way the Devil Rays sweep if the team is healthy. I just feel that we have yet to see the Red Sox with all their plugs firing---don't you?

It would be very rare to have a season without injuries or even a series of injuries. I didn't think the flu thing was weird. I actually didn't understand why anyone thought it was strange. But I was in the minority there (what's new).

L-Girl, I can't EVER recall a Sox team having multiple players---and starting pitchers!-- actually knocked out of games because of illness at the same time. Believe me, that really was unusual, just like the multilayered injury-heart palpatations-cancer avalanche that hit the Sox in 2006 was like nothing I've ever seen. For my money, last season's relative injury-free sreak made up for THAT.

we're going to the Paley Center for Media (the artist formerly known as the museum of TV & radio) on the 31st , plus just kind of strolling central park and getting dinner. The July plans are less hashed out, but they revolve around attending a concert.

How sweet would it have been if Remy has just been like, "Oh fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck. Fuuuuuuck."?

Sometimes in those situations, you see "beavershooting" by the cameraperson. This time it was just a plane going over, then a zoom into a cardboard sign in centerfield bleachers, which I'm sure we'll see soon.

On a NESN Bruins broadcast earlier this season, they didn't go straight to commercial and Andy Brickley (color guy) was talking about something and blurted out "Fuckin' right!" and then realized they were still on the air and said "Oops. Sorry." Then they cut away.

I am starting to feel old with my students not remembering Reagan or Cyndi Lauper or -- get this -- almost none had watched the Sopranos. But I'm happier in my 30s overall than I was in my 20s, so, I guess it's all right.

Some pedants like to argue that most "ground-rule doubles" don't result from the ground rules. In their view, a true "ground-rule double" is like when the ball gets lost in the ivy on the wall at Wrigley. Other doubles governed by rule 6.09 are then deemed "automatic" doubles, although the rule doesn't contain that word.

"Some pedants like to argue that most "ground-rule doubles" don't result from the ground rules. In their view, a true "ground-rule double" is like when the ball gets lost in the ivy on the wall at Wrigley. Other doubles governed by rule 6.09 are then deemed "automatic" doubles, although the rule doesn't contain that word."

Sounds dreadful. They're called Ground Rule Doubles.

Also an answer in Trivial Pursuit, which if you have non-sports-watching friends, will impress them.